Heifers calving at 3 instead of 2

[TNTLivestock]

I just read this on another board:

I believe research has shown a cow calving at three rather than two will average one additional calf more over her lifespan and be a larger and healthier cow to boot.

True or false in your experience/opinion? We have some heifers that we were planning on breeding in August but I'm wondering if we shouldnt try this just to see. I like the idea of having a larger/healthier cow but dont want to waste time waiting until they are 3 to calf, if it's not a big difference.

 

[cloone]

Your better off with the 3 year old as she is much stronger Has 2 full teeth at least, a process which takes a lot out of them especially if she is roughly 6 months gone to the bull and the calf is now rapidly growing within.She will be almost finished growing too. Also they show more maturity and are more accustomed to handling and will adapt to control in the pen especially if you are facing a difficult birth.
Saying all that we have a 27 year old black angus cow who has given birth to a total of 24 calves during her lifetime. Her last calf was born in March this year a Simmental Heifer. She is a class breeder and we have kept all her female offspring for cows. She had her first calf at 2 years. Seldom we keep any cow past 10 but the family wont let me ship her .
P.S. she has no front teeth left for the last 3 years and survives on a ration. Expensive taste but well deserving of a little TLC?

 

[Beefy]

personally, for the cows sake i believe it is better for them to calve at three. they just dont have the stress of trying to grow as much and raise a calf and breed back. they will be less likely to have calving difficulty and will breed back better.

I liken it to young girls. just because they sexually mature at 10 or 11 doesnt mean they need to be having babies then. research shows that girls who have babies at very early ages are usually less healthy than those who have them later.

Having said all that, for most people its more about the $$. i like to go on weight more than age.

 

[dun]

Did they cover that there is a higher incidence of dystocia in 3 year olds vs 2 year olds. In theory what they're saying is that a cow that calves as 3 year old will live longer. Male bovine excrement.
It may be so in a dairy but it sure hasn;t worked out thta way in the beef world.

dun

 

[Beefy]

Did they cover that there is a higher incidence of dystocia in 3 year olds vs 2 year olds. In theory what they're saying is that a cow that calves as 3 year old will live longer. Male bovine excrement.
It may be so in a dairy but it sure hasn;t worked out thta way in the beef world.

dun

i think you mean a lower incidence, right?

 

[DiamondSCattleCo]

I've never seen anything in research, nor in practical experience that suggests an animal who is first bred at 3 years old will lead a longer life and give you more calves.

Proper conformation is the key to longevity, not the age in which the animal is first bred.

Rod

 

[msscamp]

I believe research has shown a cow calving at three rather than two will average one additional calf more over her lifespan and be a larger and healthier cow to boot.

True or false in your experience/opinion?

According to this article, false - calving as a 2-year old is what gives one the additional calf.

http://www.kerrcenter.com/publications/ ... gement.pdf

 

[Aaron]

I'll agree with the fact that the cows are healthier. Never have the post-calving recovery period that 2 year olds have. 3 year olds just move to the beat of everyone else. I wouldn't say they live longer, but they do seem to be a healthier and more youthful cow when they do leave. Always a certain percentage of our 2 year olds miss a year after their first calf (because of our managment philosophy and feeding regime). And I always find that most cows that calve a two, will at some point miss a year. If they are young, we usually keep them as 95% of the time they will continue with normal productive lives after that one year. The 3 year old's don't do that on us. So in our point of view, we can predict the number of open 2 year olds to calves at 3, and plan better for them, over the various aged cows that will at some point, skip a year.

 

[dun]

Did they cover that there is a higher incidence of dystocia in 3 year olds vs 2 year olds. In theory what they're saying is that a cow that calves as 3 year old will live longer. Male bovine excrement.
It may be so in a dairy but it sure hasn;t worked out thta way in the beef world.

dun

i think you mean a lower incidence, right?

Nope. It was claimed that a 3 year old had more dystocia then a 2 year old. The reasons given were being fatter and a 3 year old would have a larger calf then 2 year old and because she hadn;t been through the calving process wouldn't have sretched from previous calving.
The deal is that a 3 year old would also have to stay in the herd 2 more years then a 2 yeae old to have more calves.

dun

 

[cfpinz]

We've done both, and the ones that calve at 3 years old do hold up better and recover quicker. We have significantly less calving issues with the 2 year olds, though. FIL calves his at 3, his cattle carry quite a bit of condition, and he has a lot of calving issues. On top of that, he stresses low BW bulls to the extreme, I don't. As long as you can seperate the 2 year old heifers out when they calve and supplement them, I don't have a problem calving them at two. We have a spring calving group, and a fall group, the best results I have got is taking heifers from the spring calving group and calving them at 2 1/2 with the fall calvers, which I prefer.

cfpinz

 

[ALACOWMAN]

my experiance with heifers wheather their 2 or 3 years they have to to have proper managment too breed back regardless. thats why i want mine calving at two. getting them in the program faster not having too wait another year. you can wad a lotta money up in a heifer anyway by the time that first calf hits the ground

 

[rkm]

If a heifer is big enouch to calve at 2 years, why would you keep her 50% longer? That means she would be close to 4 before you weaned her first calf. A lot of people want to see that 2nd calf before they decide if she is a good momma cow. seems like a lotta time to me.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

thats another thing i keep my heifers out of my best cows [as most cattleman do] i knew what the moma has done at that age and what she should be able to do. takes alot of guess work and gambling out of it. not alway a sure thing have had some disapointments

 

[Victoria]

The breed has something to do with it. Highlands should never have their first calf until they are three. They are smaller animals and mature slower, they are also long lasting though so you make it up in the future.
Most other beef breeds though have been bred to have their first calf as two year olds. The ones that aren't big enough to handle it are ones that shouldn't be kept anyway. They do require lots of good feed and nutrition to keep them growing well. I think that is part of the problem. Some people get cheap on their heifers and expect a growing girl to do well on nothing, it doesn't happen.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Victoria, you are so right. We raise our weaned heifers to be large enough to breed and calve as a 2 year old (22 months - 25 months). BUT, they are still growing as 2 yr olds & need to be watched. They only receive pasture & mineral as wet 2 yr olds, and we seperate them from the mature cows (with 3 yr olds) and are fed hay & mineral in a well protected winter lot. They do not receive any grain after being confirmed bred as yearlings. (unless they are fortunate enough to make our show string - than they are pampered & get grain - watched close - so as not to get them fat).

 

[Herefordcross]

They do require lots of good feed and nutrition to keep them growing well. I think that is part of the problem. Some people get cheap on their heifers and expect a growing girl to do well on nothing, it doesn't happen.
A dairymen ask me when I was in high school why they fed their best feed to the milking herd when the heifers are the ones that need the good feed and I told him that he posed a very good question, and he said he didn't know the answer only that's what he had been taught throughout his life.

 

[dun]

They do require lots of good feed and nutrition to keep them growing well. I think that is part of the problem. Some people get cheap on their heifers and expect a growing girl to do well on nothing, it doesn't happen.

If they need supplements and they're not show animals that need to be fat, the aren't properly selected for your environment. These are the 4 heifers we retained from last year

R1 weaned @ 184 days 540 lbs 9-2-05 current weight 886
R2 weaned @ 182 days 556 lbs 9-2-05 current weight 950
R3 weaned @ 179 days 508 lbs 9-2-05 current weight 858
R7 weaned @ 171 days 536 lbs 9-2-05 current weight 936

No supplemnt, stockplied fescue and prairie hay. Weaned early because of the drought.

dun

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

We used to raise our heifers on just stockpiled grass & hay in Kansas, but not very practical out here with our weather & stockpiled grass definately not an option most of the time - would never want to rely on any!!! would be buried under our snow - and no - they couldn't "dig" for it.

 

[rwtherefords]

I've tried both ways. Never had a problem calving a 2 year old with proper bull selection. The only time I've had to deal with dystocia is when trying to calve heifers as 3 year olds. I don't try it any more. All the talk about better health, frame, condition, etc. hasn't proven to be true with my cattle either. All the mature cows appear to be the same whether they calved at 2 or 3 years. I think their health is more a matter of management than when they first calve.

 

[SEC]

I can't believe in this day and age someone would still consider keeping an animal and not breeding them until they are 2 years old. What rock have we crawled underneath from? Remember, if we breed them as a yearling and they calve as a 2 year old and rebreed this is normal. If you ship the open cattle you are also selecting for fertility which is the single most important trait in the livestock industry bar none.

People use an excuse of how they feed for animals coming open as a 2 year old, who cares! They obviously aren't as fertile as the ones that are conceiving.

Fertile cattle often make the best cattle. Keep you replacement from the ones that calve in the first cycle and life will be grand.